After falling during the first two days of the week, Oil and Gas Drilling & Exploration sector has turned itself around for what looks to be a week in the green. The Oil and Gas Drilling & Exploration sector has a PowerRating of 10, the highest rating possible for a sector. From 1996-2006 the industries with a PowerRating of 10 have achieved annualized returns of over 35%.

Big winners within this industry include Transocean Incorporated, which has a PowerRating (for Investors) of 10, and has gained 31.5% since the beginning of this year. RIG has also gained around 2.5% since being upgraded to a PowerRating of 10 on June 20. Diamond Offshore Drilling has also made major gains so far in 2007, and is now trading about 27% higher than the stock was at the beginning of the year. DO has a PowerRating (for Investors) of 8.

On Wednesday of this week, Venezuela shook up the entire energy industry, after oil giants Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM - News) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - News) both refused to accept less profitable terms of operations under Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Granted, this is a setback for XOM and COP since the firms are withdrawing from a country with high potential for new oil production. Nevertheless, the entire energy sector remains a strong area with consistently positive PowerRatings (for Industries). Energy industry sectors with PowerRatings (for Industries) of 9 or 10 include: Oil and Gas Drilling & Exploration, Oil and Gas Refining, Independent Oil and Gas, and Marketing and Oil and Gas Equipment & Services.

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